The conversation, reported by the Interfax news agency, is an astonishing volte face from a politician who just four days ago said crushing defeat in the referendum meant the EU treaty now “cannot go ahead”.

And even if the Dutch Government does choose to represent its people when the proposal is put forward it will be unable to block it, as it only needs to be passed by a qualified majority of EU member states and by MEPs in the European Parliament to take effect.

As a result, the entire population of war-torn Ukraine is set to gain the right to travel throughout mainland Europe by as early as next month.

Thierry Baudet, one of the activists who collected 400,000 signatures to secure last week’s referendum, reacted to the revelations on Twitter by simply asking: “What the f***?”